Everyone can agree that it is fun to customize your bicycle with stickers, similar to cars. However, once you get bored of those stickers and want to remove them, they become a problem.
Regardless of who put them on the bike – yourself or the owner before you, it’s hard to remove them without damaging the bike’s frame.
There are a few ways of removing the stickers from a bike frame, and we will have a close look at them.
The Best Way To Get Stickers Off-Bike Frames
1. Scraping the sticker
You can use a credit card or another similar object to scrape the stickers off the bike. Using a plastic object like a card won’t cause damage to the bike frame.
However, this method is not guaranteed to remove the sticky residue after the sticker is off.
2. Heat the sticker
The sticker should peel off with a steamer or a hairdryer with ease. The melted adhesive can no longer hold the sticker and come off.
You may need to heat and peel in sections because the glue will dry again relatively quickly.
3. Nail polish remover
Nail polish is a strong chemical that will break down the adhesive, and you can then scrape the sticker with a razor blade or with your fingernails if you got any.
Some people are concerned about using razor blades. If that’s you, you can use a cotton ball instead. A rag will do the same job as well.
Depending on your situation, you may need to combine all three methods to remove the sticker. Either way, you might be left with some of the adhesive or glue stuck to the bike frame.
How To Get Sticker Glue Off A Bike Frame
If you managed to get the sticker off but left with the glue residue, we can help you get it off your bike.
The best method is to use Goo Gone or a similar product. This product is a God’s gift for removing glue from different metals, including aluminum and titanium surfaces.
A common household degreaser such as WD-40 will work as well.
If you don’t have either, you can also use lighter fluid. Just make sure that your handling of lighter fluid is safe to avoid any incidents.
It is known that the larger the adhesive, the more difficult it will be to remove the residue. Don’t worry and follow the steps.
- Clean the sticker and its outline with warm soapy water. Make sure to remove dirt, particles, and possible clogs.
- Heat the surface. The heat from the hairdryer helps loosen adhesives. Avoid using power hairdryer guns to avoid damaging the paint.
- Use your fingertips or a plastic card to peel it off without damaging the surface gently.
- If nothing has worked, use a glue remover. Before proceeding, be sure to test in a non-visible area. When verifying that the product works properly, apply a small amount of product to a microfiber cloth. Let it act for at least a minute and remove the residue with the help of a damp cloth.
- Wash again to remove any residue. If you wish, you can polish the surface for a better finish.
What If The Sticker Is Varnished Or Lacquered?
Most manufacturers use varnish or lacquer to cover the logos or decals on their bikes. This is done on purpose to stop their peeling and fading over time, which makes removing them very hard.
If that’s the case on your bike, you are in bad luck because there isn’t much you can do – you can try the nail polish remover, but even that may not work.
The Last Resort
If the stickers are varnished to your bike’s frame, the only option you have is to repaint the bike. Though painting your bike will neither be desirable nor easy.
However, if you can decide on a nice color and think your bike will look better with the benefit of covering the stickers, it might be a viable option.
Personalizing your bike with stickers is great, and they can be very useful when it comes to signs or warnings and preventive measures, as well as just cosmetic stickers.
However, removing them is usually a bit more complicated since they do not come off easily or leave traces of residue that do not look good.
We hope that our tips and tricks work well for you and you succeed at removing the stickers!
